Credit: wikipedia /  Malian soldiers stand in formation during the closing ceremony of Exercise Flintlock in Bamako, Mali, November 20, 2008. 

By Gary Raynaldo  /  DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

A terror attack on an army camp in central Mali killed 21 soldiers Sunday, according to the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). Unidentified assailants attacked a Malian armed forces camp in Dioura in north‑west Mopti town in the centre of the country.  The assailants caused numerous casualties and burned down the camp before fleeing, MINUSMA reported. The  body count continues to grow in Mali as multiple soldiers and UN Peacekeepers have been killed over the years. Last month, three UN peacekeepers from Guinea  were killed near west African nation Mali’s capital city Bamako.  On Jan. 20, 2019, ten peacekeepers from Chad were killed in a suspected Islamist attack in northern Mali.  The UN Secretary‑General’s Special Representative, Mahamat Saleh Annadif, condemned the terrorist attack in the strongest terms and offered his heartfelt condolences to the Government of Mali, to the people of Mali and to the families and relatives of the soldiers who lost their lives, according to a UN Secretary-General spokesperson.  He also reiterated the UN Mission’s support to the Malian Government and to the Malian people in their quest for peace and stability.

Mission In West Africa Nation Mali  Is Deadliest In The World For UN Peacekeepers

Credit: U.N. MINUSMA/Harandane Dicko / Guinean contingent of MINUSMA which is based in Kidal in the extreme north of Mali

UN vows Mali Peacekeeping Mission to continue despite it being the deadliest such mission in the world. 

Today, MINUSMA is the deadliest mission to serve in as a UN ‘blue helmet’ with more than 180 paying the ultimate sacrifice, since it was established in 2013. In 2019 alone, the number of fatalities stands at 15, according to the  UN. 

Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita said via Twitter the Malian people were “united against terrible acts.”

" Toutes nos pensées pour les fiers soldats de l’Armée Malienne tombés ce jour à Dioura dans l’accomplissement de leur mission de sécurisation des biens et des personnes face à un ennemi lâche. Le Mali et son Peuple sont unis et déterminés contre ces actes ignominieux" – IBK

— Presidence Mali (@PresidenceMali) March 17, 2019

France  Denounces The Terrorist Attack In Mali

“France condemns the terrorist attack against the Malian armed forces camp in Dioura on March 17, during which at least 20 Malian soldiers were killed and 17 others were injured, according to the information available.     We extend our condolences to the families of the soldiers who were killed and wish the injured a speedy recovery.   We reaffirm our support for the Malian authorities in their fight against terrorism, as well as for the implementation of the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation.The perpetrators of this attack must be prosecuted and held accountable for their crimes.”

France Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs statement ,  Paris  March 17, 2019.

MEANWHILE,   the terror threat in Mali continues unabated despite a massive deployment UN peacekeepers and  French troops tasked with halting jihadist’s attacks. There have been 12 French soldiers confirmed killed since the start of Operation Barkhane, which was launched more than three years ago to quell jihadist activity in the former French colony of Mali and in neighbouring countries. At the same time, the more than 11,000-strong mission in the West Africa nation Mali has become the most dangerous in the world for UN peacekeepers, which are routinely attacked by Islamic militants, according to the UN. Last year,  5 UN peacekeepers were killed.

MINUSMA was established in Mali by Security Council resolution 2100 of 25 April 2013 to support political processes in that country and carry out a number of security-related tasks. In 2012, Islamist radicals linked to al-Qaeda hijacked an uprising by ethnic Tuareg people and went on to seize cities across northern Mali, holding on for nearly a year until they were forced out by a French military intervention, according to the Washington Post. When the 11,000 U.N. troops arrived in 2013, they were meant to protect a fledgling peace deal and train the Malian army. But Islamist extremists regrouped across the region. It did not take long before the militants started targeting peacekeepers, whom they dubbed “Crusader occupation forces.”